


Baby Fever

by Squirbi



Series: A New Era of Love and Peace [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Azula (Avatar) Redemption, Babysitting, Bumi is hinted at being autistic, F/M, Family Feels, Happy Azula (Avatar), Hurt/Comfort, Izuya is back baby, Kid Fic, M/M, Protective Zuko (Avatar), Semi-graphic childbirth, Sokka is a good parent, Zuko (Avatar) is a Good Parent, Zuko and Sokka are Good Uncles, because I love her, because i like to project onto characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:28:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27686255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squirbi/pseuds/Squirbi
Summary: Zuko always knew that Sokka wanted kids. He also knew that he would have to produce an heir eventually. But, when Bumi is born, it sends Sokka (and Zuko) into a bout of baby fever, which is only amplified when they have to take care of Bumi for the week.ORSokka and Zuko take care of Bumi and talk about having children
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), background Hakoda/Bato - Relationship
Series: A New Era of Love and Peace [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2024243
Comments: 14
Kudos: 142





	1. Bumi

**Author's Note:**

> if you haven't read Surprise?, the first fic in this series, you don't have to read it before you read this. but, for context, izuya is an oc i created that was supposed to have, like, one line but i fell in love with her so she is back in this fic. she is zuko's personal assistant / good friend.

“Zuko, they’ve been in there for hours! Does it usually take this long?” 

A loud groan drifted into the room from behind the closed door. 

“Don’t worry Sokka, I think that this is normal. And please, stop pacing. You’re going to wear a hole in-” 

He was interrupted by a blood-curdling scream. 

“- a hole in the floor and it’s making me anxious.” 

Sokka stopped, walking over to Zuko to place his head in his husband’s lap. “I’m sorry babe, I’m just so nervous.”

Another scream, this time followed by a tiny shriek. The shriek devolved into crying, which eventually turned into whimpering. When it was finally quiet, Aang opened the door, breathless. 

“You can come in!” He said. “It’s a boy!” 

Sokka ran inside, Zuko on his heels. Katara was laying down on the bed, holding a bundle of blankets. “Katara! I’m so proud of you guys!” He leaned down to gently hug his sister without crushing the baby between them. “Can-can I hold him?” He asked once he straightened up again. 

“Of course. Sit down on the chair over there.” Sokka obliged. 

Katara handed the bundle to Aang, who carefully handed it off to Sokka. “Remember to support the head,” said the new father. 

Sokka looked down at the swaddled baby in his arms. Zuko watched as his husband’s eyes softened and an overjoyed smile lit up his face. 

The baby shifted, wiggling an arm out of the blankets to set his little hand on Sokka’s.“Oh. Hi little guy.” Sokka breathed. 

“Have you guys decided on a name? Asked Zuko. 

“Yeah, I think we are going to call him Bumi.” 

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

Sokka and Zuko were obsessed with Bumi. Any chance they got to spend time with him, they took.   
Zuko and Sokka watched as Appa’s shadow showed on the horizon. As soon as the bison landed, they could see Bumi trying to get out of his mothers arms. When the family climbed off of Appa, Bumi was immediately waddling over to his uncles as fast as he could. 

“Uncle Zuko! Uncle Okka!” The toddler barrelled into the Fire Lords' legs, hugging them as tightly as he could. Once he was done hugging, he took a step back and reached his arms up at Sokka. “Up! Up!” 

Sokka happily picked up his nephew and gave him a little squeeze.

“Thank you so much for agreeing to watch him for the week! You have no idea how crazy things are in Omashu right now, with all the rebuilding and-” said Katara. 

“Don’t worry about it. Besides, I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to spend a couple of days with my favorite nephew,” Zuko looked at the duffle bag that Katara was holding. “Is that his stuff?” 

Katara nodded, and Sokka put Bumi down in order to grab the luggage. “Do you guys wanna stay for dinner?” 

“Sorry, but we really have to go. We need to make a couple stops on our way back, so we need to get moving,” said Aang, who was already remounting Appa. 

“No problem.” 

The three of them waved as they watched Appa take off. Once the bison could no longer be seen, Zuko picked Bumi up and they started back to the palace. 

It was nearing dinner time, so they made a quick stop to the guest room to drop off his things before heading to the dining hall. When they got there, however, Zuko immediately noticed that there were at least twelve places set at the table, when there should have only been three. 

He thought for a moment, then slapped his forehead. “Shit…” he mumbled. 

“What’s going on babe?” Sokka asked. 

“I forgot to cancel dinner with the Earth Kingdom representatives.” He responded. 

“Well, it’s too late to cancel now. Bumi, do you think you can behave?” Bumi looked a little nervous. 

“If you don’t want to be around all the new people, you can eat dinner with Izuya,” Sokka offered. 

“But I wanna eat with you guys!” Bumi said. 

“Okay, but then you have to be on your best behaviour, alright? If you feel overwhelmed make sure to tell Zuko or me, okay?” The four-year old nodded. 

“Okay, let’s go get changed,” Sokka took his hand and led him to his room. 

Bumi let Izuya help him get dressed in his nice clothes. She was gently combing his hair when his uncles returned, dressed in their official regalia. 

“C’mon Bumi, let’s go before we’re late. Thanks Izuya!” 

“No problem. Good luck!” she called after them as they left.

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆ 

When they walked into the dining hall, the surprise was evident on the Earth Kingdom guests' faces as they stood up to address their hosts. 

The representatives bowed, which Sokka and Zuko returned respectively before taking their seats at the head of the table along with Bumi, who sat at Sokka’s left. 

The first course was being brought out by the staff when one of the guests, Ambassador Shio if Zuko’s memory served him correctly, asked what everybody else was thinking. 

“So, is the child… yours?” she asked. 

Zuko laughed, to which Sokka gently elbowed him. “No, he’s my nephew,” Zuko replied after gaining his composure. 

Instead of clearing things up, the ambassadors looked even more confused. 

Sokka caught on to what the ambassadors were thinking and fixed the situation by saying, “He’s not Azula’s kid. This is Bumi, my sister’s son.” 

“Oh, that makes more sense,” said Ambassador Shio. 

Silence fell around the table again as the main course was brought in. Zuko started to get worried when he saw that they were serving; The main course consisted of spicy noodles, fried rice, and roast duck. 

‘Fuck,’ he thought, ‘Bumi won’t eat any of this’ 

Bumi was in a similar situation, staring at the plate that was set in front of him. He was just about to lean over and tell his uncle that he couldn’t eat any of this when one of the servers practically ran into the dining room with another plate. She switched it out with the one that was already in front of him. It had white rice with the vegetables on the side and a few dumplings. 

When the server turned around, Zuko realized that it was Raya, Izuya’s girlfriend. She winked as she walked back to the kitchen. 

After dinner, Izuya was waiting in the hallway for them. 

“Did Raya bring Bumi his food?” 

“Agni, yes, thank you Izuya. I forgot to tell the kitchen about his safe foods. I -” 

Izuya waved her hand at Zuko, dismissing his thanks. “Don’t worry about it. My brother is the same way, you know?” 

Zuko gave her a small hug. “You’re a lifesaver.”

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆ 

When Aang and Katara arrived later that week, it took almost half an hour for them to tear Bumi away from his uncles. After several hugs and a tearful goodbye, the young family was off to the Southern Air Temple to continue reparations. 

They sat together in bed later that night, Zuko reading over some reconstruction plans and Sokka writing a letter to his father. Without even looking at his husband, Zuko could tell that Sokka was thinking about something. He set down the papers and set his hand on Sokka’s. 

“What are you thinking about love?” 

Sokka looked down at their hands, intertwining their fingers and taking a deep breath before meeting Zuko’s eyes. 

“Do… do you want to have a baby?” 

All of the air left the Fire Lord’s lungs. “I mean, I have to produce an heir eventually.” 

“Yeah I know you have to, but do you want to?” 

Zuko’s eyes were starting to water. “Of course I want to! I just-” he buried his face in his hands. 

Sokka let go of Zuko’s hand and started rubbing his back as he cried. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m here for you,” he soothed. 

Finally, Zuko raised his head, but still refused to look Sokka in the eye. 

“I’m scared,” he said. “I’m scared of becoming him.” 

Zuko didn’t need to use his name for Sokka to know who he was talking about. 

“Zuko, I need you to look at me,” he said gently. He cupped Zuko’s face in his hands and looked at him. “You are not your father. You never will be your father.” 

“But, you don’t know that! What if-” 

“Zuko. I know that you will never be your father. You wanna know how I know?” 

Zuko didn’t answer, but Sokka continued anyway. 

“I know because you are good, Zuko. You have apologized for your mistakes. You know that what you did in the past was wrong and you have admitted that. That is something that Ozai has always been too weak to do, and something that he will always be too weak to do. You are so much better than him,” he said. “You always have been. I wouldn’t even think of bringing up kids if I thought you would be like Ozai. I probably wouldn’t have started dating you, let alone marry you if I had the slightest doubt about how kind you are.” 

Zuko cried even harder, and let himself be comforted by Sokka. 

When Zuko woke up, he was resting his head on Sokka’s chest, and Sokka had his arms wrapped around him. He disentagled his limbs from Sokka’s and gently shook his husband awake. 

“Zuko? What’s up?” Sokka said groggily. 

“Let’s have a baby.”


	2. Izumi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's baby time! Welcome to the world Izumi! Really quick, trigger warning for vomiting and semi-graphic descriptions of childbirth.

It had already been agreed upon that when the time came for Zuko to produce an heir, Mai would be the one to carry the child. 

But now, four months in, Mai was sure that she never wanted to do this again. She had the worst morning sickness, and was constantly waking Ty Lee up with the sound of her throwing up. Luckily, she had the best girlfriend in the whole world, and Ty Lee was never upset when she was woken up early, and always made sure to rub her back and hold her hair while she retched. 

They had decided that Mai would stay in the palace for the duration of her pregnancy, so that she could have the best care possible, and so that Zuko and Sokka could be present for the birth of their daughter. 

Mai was fine with staying in the palace, if not for the sole reason that she could constantly complain to Zuko and Sokka about the baby. 

This morning was no different, her stomach was churning and the heartburn was killing her. She was sure to make Sokka and Zuko aware of this fact when she showed up to breakfast. 

“I can’t believe you roped me into this,” she groaned, taking her seat at the table. 

“Maybe Katara can help with some of the symptoms, she should be arriving today,” said Sokka. 

They had invited Katara and her family, Hakoda and Bato, Iroh, and Toph to the palace so that they could make the announcement in person. After all, this was their first child, and Zuko was pretty sure that Katara would be upset if they told her over letter. 

Sure enough, everybody showed up around lunchtime. Bumi sprinted as fast as his little legs could go and threw himself at Zuko. 

Zuko picked him, only to hand him over to Sokka so that he could hug Iroh. As they were greeting everyone, Toph had a strange look on her face. 

Toph walked over to Mai, stopping in front of her. She stood there for a moment, before nodding and walking over to the others to greet them. 

Mai looked at Ty Lee. 

“What the hell just happened?” 

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆ 

Later, at dinner, Hakoda asked what everyone was thinking. 

“So, not that I’m unhappy to see everyone, but why did you invite us all here?” 

Zuko cleared his throat. “Well, we have a special announcement. We-” 

“We’re having a baby!” Sokka cut him off. “Sorry babe, I got excited.” 

“It’s okay,” Zuko replied, “And technically, Mai is having the baby.” 

“I knew it!” Toph exclaimed. 

“Is that why you were being so weird earlier?” asked Mai. 

“Yeah, I could feel an extra heartbeat,” she explained. “I figured that was why you invited everybody to come here.” 

Uncle was crying, and Hakoda and Bato looked shocked. After Katara hugged both of them, she went to Mai and started asking her how she was feeling. 

While Katara was giving Mai some tips on how to mellow out her morning sickness, Iroh walked over to give Zuko a tight hug. 

They held that embrace for several minutes before Uncle spoke. 

“I am so, so proud of you Zuko.” 

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆ 

Several months later, Mai woke up with a start. She started shaking Ty Lee awake immediately. 

“Hm? What’s up sweetie?” Ty Lee asked, eyes still heavy with sleep. 

“Yeah, um, I think my water just broke.” 

That woke Ty Lee up right away. “I’ll go get Katara!” 

Katara had been staying at the palace for the past few weeks, because Sokka and Zuko felt better if she was there for the birth, and Mai felt more comfortable with her helping with the delivery as opposed to the royal midwife who she didn’t know. Plus, Katara wanted to be there when she finally became an aunt. 

They were back in under three minutes, Katara with several towels, a large bag, and an empty basin. “Aang is getting Sokka and Zuko. Have you felt any contractions yet?” 

Mai nodded. “I felt one while Ty Lee was getting you.” 

Aang, Zuko, and Sokka burst through the door. “Are you okay? How are you feeling?” Zuko was at her bedside in an instant. 

“I’m - ow! Shit!” Mai squeezed her eyes shut as a painful contraction gripped her abdomen. Ty Lee ran to hold her girlfriend’s hand. 

“Okay. Aang, fill up the basin with warm water. Ty Lee, could you lay these towels out on the bed? Zuko, go into the bag, find the box of tea, and brew a pot of it. It will help with the pain,” Katara started giving orders. 

As Mai’s contractions got closer and closer together, Zuko started feeling more and more anxious. Sokka tried his best to be comforting, but he started feeling faint when he heard Katara tell Mai to start pushing. 

Finally, five hours after they had woken up, the sound of cries filled the room. 

“Congrats guys, it’s a beautiful little girl,” Katara handed the bundle of blankets to Zuko and quickly turned to Mai to begin checking her over for any injuries that may have occurred during childbirth. 

He peered at the little face in the blankets. Sokka leaned into his side to get a look at their daughter. 

She was so precious, tiny wisps of black hair framing her chubby face, with a button nose and rosebud lips. Izuya yawned, and Zuko felt every doubt he had about fatherhood melt away. 

“She’s perfect,” Sokka started crying. 

Zuko lifted the baby towards his face and placed a small kiss on her forehead. 

“Hello Izumi,” he said quietly. He looked to Sokka, and handed her to him. 

Sokka held the little girl and felt his heart explode.

“Never make me do this again,” Mai grumbled. 

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆ 

A week later, the three of them were standing in front of a small door, Zuko nervously readjusting Izumi’s little dress. 

“Ready?” asked Sokka. 

“Ready.” His husband replied. 

They opened the door and stepped into the room. 

“Hey Azula,” Zuko said quietly. 

Azula stood up from where she was brushing her hair. “Is that her?” 

Sokka nodded. She walked over to where they were standing and looked at the little girl. She burst into tears. 

She sat down on the bed, and Zuko sat down next to her, slowly rubbing her back. Azula turned towards him and hugged him, letting herself cry into his shoulder. Once she had calmed down, she turned to Sokka. 

“Can I hold her?” 

Sokka looked at Zuko, who nodded. He walked over to the bed and gently placed Izumi into Azula’s arms. 

“Hello little one,” she said with a watery smile. 

After a few minutes, Zuko spoke up. “What’s wrong? I mean, why were you crying?” 

She paused her cooing to look at Zuko. “It’s just…” she bit her lip and looked back down to Izumi, tears welling in her eyes again. “She’s going to be so happy with you guys. You’re going to be-” She broke down into tears again, handing Izumi back to Sokka so that she could hug Zuko again. “-you’re going to be ten times the father Ozai was.”

Now it was Zuko’s turn to start crying, hugging his sister even tighter as the tears fell. 

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆ 

To the palace staff’s surprise, Zuko adamantly refused a nanny, saying that they would only be using a nanny when it was absolutely necessary. He wanted to give her the childhood he wished he had, a childhood filled with love, adoration, and most importantly, two doting fathers. 

It became a common sight to see Zuko attend meetings with his baby in his arms. He was a baby whisperer. There were several times that Sokka would burst into the room with an inconsolable Izumi, only to have her instantly calm down as soon as Zuko held her. 

Sokka, although slightly jealous of his husband’s baby calming superpowers, was overjoyed to see how happy Zuko was as a father. 

The next time Aang and Katara came to visit, Zuko was instantly suspicious of Katara. Aang had helped her get down from Appa, something that he hadn’t done since… 

“We’re having another baby!” Aang blurted as soon as he dismounted. 

...since Katara was pregnant with Bumi. 

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆ 

They were currently visiting the South Pole so that they could be there for Katara when she gave birth. 

Hakoda and Bato spent the whole time fawning over their granddaughter, watching with delight as Izumi’s curiosity over the snow turned to playfulness. 

A week and a half later, Sokka was holding Kya for the first time. He looked at Zuko, who knew the look in his eye all too well. 

“Sokka, no,” he said, trying to ignore the look of defeat that overtook his husband’s face. 

Sokka only looked upset for about a minute, before the disappointment turned to a mischievous grin. He handed Kya to Zuko, who instantly fell in love with his new niece. 

He cooed over her for a few minutes, and then he noticed Sokka in his peripheral. He was looking at him with his infamous puppy eyes, something he knew Zuko couldn’t resist. 

“You’re evil,” Zuko replied, voice completely devoid of any malice. 

Sokka smiled. “Did it work though?” 

Zuko sighed. “Maybe. Let’s wait until Izumi gets a little bigger though.” 

Sokka pumped his fist in the air. 

“That was a maybe, Sokka,” Zuko said. Sokka’s smile widened, and he threw his arm around his husband’s shoulder, careful as to not jostle the sleeping baby. 

“Oh, please,” Sokka said with a smile, “I know your weaknesses Sparky.” 

Zuko sighed again, knowing that his husband was right. 

Not even the Fire Lord is immune to baby fever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this fic! This was my first attempt at a multi-chaptered fic, so hopefully I got the pacing right. I'm definitely going to be adding more to this series, there might even be a fic centered around Izuya and Zuko's friendship, because like I said, i love her a lot. anyways, until next time, take care of yourselves, okay? <3

**Author's Note:**

> oooooh, baby time! i love fics that show sokka and zuko interacting with bumi and there simply aren't enough of them. also, i gave bumi autism because i am on the spectrum and i wrote it, so i make the rules.


End file.
